Absolution
by confessions.of.katijane
Summary: BOOK 7 SPOILERS.  For those of us who prefer a better end.


**A/N: I figured that humor, and the death of Katie on the same day, was the only way that I could cope with what J.K. did to me when she stole my favorite character from me. Really hope that it doesn't offend—only meant to entertain.**

Fred Weasley sat up. He felt unusually light and carefree. Not that this was entirely new for him, but it was still an _odd _feeling. Not certain what to do next, he stood up. Then, as he took a rather bouncy first step, he felt himself launched several feet into the air. This shook him a bit, but as it was on the whole a rather pleasant feeling, he did not give it too much thought. Suddenly, everything came back to him. The blast, the wall, the screams. He looked around himself to find out what had happened and the sight that greeted him was much unexpected.

He saw himself, being held by Percy, surrounded by Ron, Harry, and Hermione Granger. His eyes grew wide as he stared at his broken body: limp and unmoving, glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling. The four were crying. It was all starting to sink in with him when he heard raucous laughter from behind. He turned around to find Katie Bell doubled over in laughter, pointing at the scene before them. She, too, was floating on a level about equal to his own and her choppy dark hair fell in front of her face as she laughed.

"What's so funny?" he demanded of his girlfriend, rather offended at her reaction. "I just died!" He was rather hoping that the one girl who should care more about him than the rest would be at least a _little _grieved by this unfortunate circumstance. After all, he had only barely firmed up what had been a very tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship after Bill and Fleur's wedding last summer.

"I know," she grinned, straightening up again to face him. "So what is Percy doing?"

He turned back to look at his brother, cradling his body. "Agonizing over me, as well he should," Fred responded defensively.

"No, no," she said, still grinning. "He looks like he's trying to _protect_ it. Your body, I mean. Like there's very much more that could go wrong with it!"

Fred stared back down at the scene. It did indeed appear as though Percy was sheltering his body from the rest of the wreckage. He cracked a grin. "Yeah, that is pretty funny," he admitted. "And look! Look, Kate, I'm still laughing! My body gets it! Oh, I was always so fond of that thing."

They continued to laugh together, until Fred stopped abruptly. "Hold up," he said suddenly. "How come _you _can see me?"

Katie Bell rolled her eyes and stuck one hand on her hip. "I'm _dead_, drongo," she said impatiently.

"You are?!" he cried. "Outrageous! What happened to you?"

"I got hit by the Killing Curse just a couple minutes before you died."

"Ha! You died before me."

"Shut up!" she said, offended. "At least I was dueling somebody. I didn't just get hit by a stupid _wall_."

"Hey, that was a rough way to go, I'll have you know! Who killed you, anyway?" 

"Marcus Flint," Katie said bitterly.

Again Fred laughed. "_Flint_?" he cried incredulously. "You got killed by _Flint_? Oh come on, Bell, you've got to give me better than that!"

"He was a Death Eater!"

"He was also the same guy who couldn't aim the quaffle for his life and repeated seventh year three times. How'd he hit _you_?"

Katie shrugged. "I guess I bobbed when I should have weaved."

"Hang on, then," Fred said. "Are we ghosts? I mean…I don't think I elected to be one. I didn't see that long bright tunnel or anything…"

"I don't think we're ghosts. I'm not sure what we are, actually. I just expect the tunnel's a bit busy at the moment, what with so many of us dying…"

"Who else died?" 

"I don't know," she admitted. "When I was killed, I came up to find you."

"Really?" Fred asked, impressed. "You wanted your last few moments as a…whatever…to see me?"

She shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright..."

He grinned. "Why did I wait so long to ask you out?"

"Like I said, you're a drongo," Katie said. "And yet I always loved you…odd, isn't it?"

"Bit, I suppose. But not as odd as me being in love with you."

Again, she rolled her eyes, but this time she ended up suddenly being embraced by Fred. It felt ten times as amazing after mortality.

"Hey," she said suddenly. "They're taking your body."

Fred looked down and observed his family fondly. "Ah, bless them," he said. "They're not leaving me in the rubble."

"Hold up. Percy's stopped, but the others are running on. What's he taking out of your pocket?"

Percy had stopped short, being distracted by a bulge in the breast pocket of Fred's jacket. He reached in and pulled out a small black box. "What is that?" Katie repeated.

Fred shifted uncomfortably and tried to distract Katie. "Let's go see if any of our other friends died," he said. "I want to find out what's happened with his holeyness, George."

"It's a ring!" Katie yelled, pointing as Percy opened up the small box revealing a simple silver band. "You were going to propose to me!"

Fred frowned. "Well not now that Percy's gone and spoiled it. Oh…and the fact that we've died, I suppose."

Katie stared up at him, grinning. "Oh, Fred," she said fondly. "I rather like you."

Fred shrugged as she found her way into his arms again. "I would have said yes, by the way," she whispered into his ear.

His surprise was eclipsed by the sudden appearance of Remus Lupin and his wife, Tonks.

"Well come on, you two," Tonks said brightly. That tunnel's not going to wait forever."

Fred turned around to find a bright beam of light at the end of the corridor. So that was heaven, he thought. Or whatever was after death. Katie simply stared at the pair of them.

"_You're_ dead??" she asked, disbelieving. Now Fred rolled his eyes.

"Now who's the drongo?" he said superiorly. Katie punched him in the arm.

"Always fighting, even after death," Lupin said. "I remember you two in my classroom, when you—"

Tonks interrupted her husband. "Ah, _dear,_ we've kind of got to go."

"Oh yes, that's right. Let's be off then." He took his wife's hand and they began to walk toward the light.

Katie looked up at Fred uncertainly. Fred took one last glance around the place and then put his arm around his would-have-been fiancee's waist and directed her after the couple.

"Come on, Kates," he said firmly. "I'm sure there's marriages in heaven, or wherever it is that we're going. Maybe Dumbledore can perform it for us."

"Yeah right! I want my parents to be there."

"You want your parents to _die_??"

"No, that's not what I said, you—"

But the sound was drowned out as the great light encompassed all of them and they left the earth forever.


End file.
